Mansfield Grower Program

Erfan VafaieJune 17, 2019June 17, 2019General, Growers, Integrated Pest Management, NotesLeave a comment

This week, one of our Texas growers held an internal full-day training program and were kind enough to allow me to take notes and share them with the rest of you growers! One of the many things I continue to really appreciate and like about the green industry in Texas: they are collaborative and help each other out. See below for speakers and notes related to their presentations.

Please note that I do not personally endorse the products mentioned by the presenters below – the notes provided below are “as-is”, as written as accurately I could based on the information provided by the presenters. Any lack of information or misinformation is not intentional.

Dr. Ann Chase – Recognizing plant diseases and how to manage them.

Dr. Ann Chase – Common diseases of poinsettias.

Dr. Raymond Cloyd – How to deal with mite pests in horticultural production systems.

Dr. Raymond Cloyd – Thrips management.

Gary Volmer – Best Practices and 2018 season challenges with poinsettia production Continue reading “Mansfield Grower Program”

Greenhouse and Nursery Regulatory Compliance Workshop 2018 – Notes and Resources

Erfan VafaieDecember 21, 2018June 6, 2019AsideGeneral, Growers, Integrated Pest Management, Notes, ProgramsLeave a comment

If speakers provided permission to provide PDFs of their presentations, they are found at the end of the notes associated with that section.

Speakers:

Safety is a “Hot” topic: Heat illness prevention for outdoor workers. Dr. Shaadi Khademi, UT Health Science Center at Tyler (PDF)
WPS Training Resources and Staying Compliant. Ms. Kathy Newton, TDA (PDF)
Start clean, stay clean: Strategies for practical preventative measures against pathogenic problems. Dr. Kevin Ong, Texas A&M
Pesticide Handling, Storage, and Disposal. Dr. Mark Matocha, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension (PDF)
Recent advances in pest management. Mr. Erfan Vafaie, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension (PDF)

Notes from 2018 Ornamental & Turf CEU Meeting

Erfan VafaieJune 29, 2018June 6, 2019General, Growers, Integrated Pest Management, Notes, ProgramsLeave a comment

Below are some notes taken from some of the speakers at the 2018 Ornamental & Turf CEU Meeting held by Helena Chemical Company at the Rose Center, Tyler TX on June 26th. Disclaimer: the notes below do not represent endorsement, research, or vetting by Texas A&M AgriLife Extension and the AgriLife IPM Program Specialist Program. Notes below as provided as is from the speakers who provided the information.

Full program, including sponsors, is attached at the end of this document.

Rotation Strategies in Turf & Ornamentals – Kathie Kalmowitz, BASF

Irrigation Pond Management – Clint Formby, SePro

Key Turfgrass Insect Pests – Gary Brooks, Bayer

Laws & Regulations Update – Don Renchie, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension (additional links and resources included)

Continue reading “Notes from 2018 Ornamental & Turf CEU Meeting”

Greenhouse & Nursery Regulatory Compliance Workshop 2017 – Notes and Resources

Erfan VafaieDecember 6, 2017June 6, 2019General, Growers, Notes, Programs

Another year and another successful greenhouse and nursery workshop here in Overton. We had many great speakers and are very grateful for our sponsors. I have included some summaries and resources from some of our speakers down below. I have created links below that will direct you to information pertinent to each speaker below. In the case where the speaker has given consent to share their presentation, I have also included that too.

Dr. Shaadi Khademi, MD & Dr. Vanessa Casanova, PhD – Pesticides: Exposure, Health Effects, and Safety Education
UT Health Northeast

Mrs. Kathy (Katherine) Newton – How to Comply with WPS Revisions
Texas Department of Agriculture

TDA Compliance Resources

Dr. Steven Arthurs – Integrated Pest Management for Greenhouse and Nursery
Department of Entomology, Texas A&M University

Mr. Daniel Cunningham – Water U Doing for Texas Horticulture?
Department of Horticulture, Texas A&M University

Continue reading “Greenhouse & Nursery Regulatory Compliance Workshop 2017 – Notes and Resources”

IOBC Canada 2017 – Part III

Erfan VafaieJune 20, 2017June 6, 2019Notes, Programs, Uncategorized1 Comment

This post is a part of a series of notes taken at the International Organization of Biological Control 2017.

Go back to Monday’s Agenda

Foraging and egg-laying behaviour of the coccinellid predator Rhyzobius lophanthae
Marjolein Kruidhof, Wageningen University & Research, BU Greenhouse Horticulture

Diaspis boisduvalii scales in cymbidium; major problem in Netherlands and they don’t know what to do anymore to control
- Due to restrictions of use of chemicals (i.e. neonics), they have been unable to control the scale
Cage experiment; comparison of different natural enemies of Diaspis boisduvalii scales
Tried 8 different treatments, different release rates and frequencies of release of Rhyzobius lophanthae larvae or adults (with or without ephestia eggs)
In control, plant was covered with the scale at the end (5 weeks later)
- When releasing R. lophanthae adults and ephestia eggs, got excellent control
R. lophanthae is a predatory beetle
- Adults are about 2.5mm in small
- Specialist predators of the Diaspididae family
- Lays eggs under the shields of adult female scales

Continue reading “IOBC Canada 2017 – Part III”

IOBC Canada 2017 – Part II

Erfan VafaieJune 13, 2017June 6, 2019Growers, Notes, Programs4 Comments

This post is a part of a series of notes taken at the International Organization of Biological Control 2017.

Go back to Monday’s Agenda

Plant-provided food increases indirect defense through manipulation of a mutualism

Pete Nelson, North Carolina State University

Conservation biological control in tobacco

Spined stiltbug

Continue reading “IOBC Canada 2017 – Part II”

IOBC Canada 2017 – Part I

Erfan VafaieJune 12, 2017June 6, 2019Growers, Notes, ProgramsIOBC2 Comments

Go back to Monday’s Agenda

Biological control in greenhouse IPM systems: Where we’ve been, where we are, and where we need to go?
by Michael Brownbridge

Greenhouse production:

Unique production environment
Many variables within the production system: crop, pest, production practices, and external environmental factors

Talk is on where Michael believes many of the challenges in biological control are (Canadian/NA perspective)

Continue reading “IOBC Canada 2017 – Part I”

Biocontrols Conference (2017) – Advanced Biocontrol Workshop Notes

Erfan VafaieMarch 21, 2017June 6, 2019Growers, Integrated Pest Management, Notes, ProgramsLeave a comment

Speakers:

Doug Barrow

Biological Crop Protection Specialist, Biobest USA Inc.

Kelly Vance

Technical Support, Beneficial Insectary

Ronald Valentin

Technical Lead, Bioline AgroSciences

Suzanne Wainwright-Evans

Ornamental Entomologist, Buglady Consulting

Tim Engelkes

R&D Entomology, Koppert Biological Systems Inc.

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Notes from BWI Grower Seminar – 2017

Erfan VafaieFebruary 10, 2017June 6, 2019Growers, Notes, Programs

A seminar for greenhouse and nursery growers was recently held in Buda TX (01/24/2017) and Tyler TX (01/25/2017). Summary notes and relevant resources related to the talks can be found below.

Category: Notes

Mansfield Grower Program

Greenhouse and Nursery Regulatory Compliance Workshop 2018 – Notes and Resources

Notes from 2018 Ornamental & Turf CEU Meeting

Greenhouse & Nursery Regulatory Compliance Workshop 2017 – Notes and Resources

IOBC Canada 2017 – Part III

IOBC Canada 2017 – Part II

IOBC Canada 2017 – Part I

Biocontrols Conference (2017) – Advanced Biocontrol Workshop Notes

Speakers:

Doug Barrow

Kelly Vance

Ronald Valentin

Suzanne Wainwright-Evans

Tim Engelkes

Notes from BWI Grower Seminar – 2017

Talks:

Plant Protection of Insect and Mite Pests

Minimizing Disease Preventatively: The role of the environment

Best Rotation Programs to Avoid Resistance

Preventative vs Curative Fungicides and Rotations

Laws & Regulations

Notes from Nursery Greenhouse and Turf Continuing Education Conference – 2016

Talks:

Herbicide Fate

Incorporating Biopesticides into a Conventional Program

Overview of Revisions to EPA’s Agricultural Worker Protection Standard

Mites & Pest Management on Ornamentals

Interpreting Pesticide Labels and Sprayer Calibration